Can anyone suggest a finish to keep the red flame in Box Elder from fading.
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Box Elder
- Thread starter Paul M. Kaplowitz
- Start date
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
As near as I can tell there isn't one. The finishes with High UV increase the time it will stay red but not by a whole lot. The best bet is to keep is out of direct sun.
I tried a test using several different finishes and to test it to the extreme I put the pieces outside. Within a few days all the red had turned brown no matter what the finihs.
Binh Pho uses metalic dyes to air brush over the color with the same color. The metalic dyes will last a very long time.
I tried a test using several different finishes and to test it to the extreme I put the pieces outside. Within a few days all the red had turned brown no matter what the finihs.
Binh Pho uses metalic dyes to air brush over the color with the same color. The metalic dyes will last a very long time.
As john says there is unfortunately no other way than dying the wood.
You might have notice too that what ever the nature of the wood, if left outside it always tuns grey. That is the way nature protects the wood prior to destroy it. Our pieces, sooner or later, always turn brown, unfortunately
You might have notice too that what ever the nature of the wood, if left outside it always tuns grey. That is the way nature protects the wood prior to destroy it. Our pieces, sooner or later, always turn brown, unfortunately
Hi Paul. Welcome.
We had a thread here on this subject several months ago, during which several things were discussed.
Attempting to see if anything other than a dark closet would work, I give a sample of the wood to a friend of mine who is a phd microbiologist and organic chemist and is part of senior management for a major drug company here in New Jersey. He came back to me within hours on a Saturday afternoon with the identification of the actual chemical compounds comprising the red, known as "phenolics", but noted that their molecular composition is pretty fragile making them easily broken down by even weak UV light or heat. He was going to try to see if there could be some way to "fix" or preserve the color with an additive.
Last time I spoke to him he said he was having no luck thus far, and didn't seem hopeful. He mentioned that Pho's air brushed dye would most likely be the only way to preserve the "natural design" of the original colorings.
mm
We had a thread here on this subject several months ago, during which several things were discussed.
Attempting to see if anything other than a dark closet would work, I give a sample of the wood to a friend of mine who is a phd microbiologist and organic chemist and is part of senior management for a major drug company here in New Jersey. He came back to me within hours on a Saturday afternoon with the identification of the actual chemical compounds comprising the red, known as "phenolics", but noted that their molecular composition is pretty fragile making them easily broken down by even weak UV light or heat. He was going to try to see if there could be some way to "fix" or preserve the color with an additive.
Last time I spoke to him he said he was having no luck thus far, and didn't seem hopeful. He mentioned that Pho's air brushed dye would most likely be the only way to preserve the "natural design" of the original colorings.
mm
Thank you for your replies. The consensus seems to be that there is no way to save the red. I have a beautiful Camphor crotch with the feather outlined in red that will probably fade also. Sad.